Innholdsfortegnelse for Feb/Mar/Apr 2018 i Australian Traveller

TREASURE TROVES The local art scene is set to get a hit of colour with the opening of a new permanent exhibition, and the arrival on our shores of a clutch of masterpieces. New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale ( neram.com.au ) continues the rise and rise of the regional gallery with the opening of Hinton: Treasures of Australian Art. The permanent installation includes over 100 works by the likes of Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Margaret Preston and Norman Lindsay, all garnered from the collection of retired shipping company director Howard Hinton, who bought and donated over 1000 works to the Armidale Teachers’ College from1929 until his death in1948. Meanwhile, the Art Gallery of South Australia will present a major exhibition of 65Impressionist works from the collection of the…

Wired for fun The folks who made putt-putt golf a cool after-dark pursuit at Holey Moley in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Newtown are at it again, this time with the opening of ARCHIE BROTHERS ELECTRIC CIRCUS. Located in Alexandria, the venue includes dodgems, carousels and old-school arcade games, as well as a menu of burgers (pictured below), hotdogs, pizzas and crazy shakes (above) that are virgin during the day, when kids are welcome, and decidedly not after dark, when the fun becomes adults-only. archiebrothers.com.au Reality bites A 20-year dream of owners Eriko Pannam and Gareth Rowlands come to fruition, KUZU in Woodend, in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, will offer up a place to have a drink and a quick bite if that’s what tickles your fancy when it opens in…

ALMOST EVERY DAY before dawn for 37 years, Arthur Stace would write the word ‘Eternity’ on the streets of Sydney in chalk, rendering it in a beautiful copperplate script. He was for a long time anonymous; his identity a mystery until it was revealed by the Sunday Telegraph in 1956, when Stace was aged 72. Or so the story goes. Artist and lifelong Sydney resident Robert Eadie remembers Stace from the 1940s and ’50s as a friend of his grandfather’s. “We all knew he was the man who wrote on the footpaths, but my understanding later was that ‘nobody’ knew that,” he says. “Well, we did.” Eadie was a schoolchild growing up in Pyrmont when Stace would call into his house around 8am on his way back from a morning’s…

I KEEP MY GAZE PEELED FOR CLOUDS OF FLUORESCENT BUDGIES AND KANGAROOS LEAPING THROUGH THE MULGA SCRUB. ‘SECOND BEST COFFEE IN ALICE’ reads a sign perched on the footpath near Todd St Mall, leading locals and blow-ins such as myself to a cafe crowded with film memorabilia and pint-sized figurines. “This place sure has a sense of humour,” my travel mate whispers. Alice Springs is a tiny town with a titanic personality. It’s a place loaded with contrasts. Hip, even hipster, cafes are dotted throughout its centre; while looming large over the township are the majestic MacDonnell Ranges – one of the most peaceful, awe-inspiring and gentle landscapes our country has to offer. After sitting in bustling cafe Page 27, a cosy spot for breakfast we discovered after wandering around…

EAST FREMANTLE IS a true local’s secret. More poised than its hippie sister suburb, its boutiques and cafes charm with ornate plasterwork, historic stone and, inside, covetable finds. The newly renovated Tradewinds Hotel is one of few accommodations to back onto this characterful neighbourhood. Facing the Swan River, it sits high on the hill and drinks in views that sweep from Fremantle’s shipping cranes to the waterway and a truck-frequented bridge that connects freight with port. The pub that fills the circa-1890s front of the hotel is a popular spot. The Prendiville family, who own the Tradewinds, are making a habit of upcycling once-proud venues with a wallop of white paint and a decorator who favours the Hamptons. The 83 hotel rooms, all 20th century and with outdoor entry, still…

SET UP IN THE GENTEEL, northern end of Melbourne’s Chinatown, mod-Thai pioneer Longrain has been drawing crowds for its big flavours and cocktail-fuelled buzz for over a decade now, but a one-level stair climb up to new sibling venue Longsong is like entering a different world, where Melbourne doesn’t really feel like Melbourne anymore – in the best possible way. It was one of the most anticipated and drawn-out openings of 2017, one that saw veteran Melbourne hospitality power couple John and Lisa van Haandel reunite with long-term collaborator, chef David Moyle – luring him from his post at Hobart’s highly regarded Franklin back to his home state. The project has been in the media and on the cards for what seems like years, so when the eagle finally landed…

HOW LIKE A CELEBRITY to keep you waiting? Herded together on the moonlit sand out of turtle sight, we watch Mon Repos’s rangers mill about like a diva’s PR team, phoning in updates. “No, she’s not ready,” ranger Cathy Gatley tells her walkie-talkie. “She’s still body-pitting.” We’re here for the stars of a 100 million-year-old show. Every November to March, some 360 female turtles heave themselves ashore at 1.6-kilometre Mon Repos beach – the biggest turtle rookery on Australia’s east coast – to lay and bury their eggs, repeating a cycle of nature dating back to dinosaur days. Body-pitting (flippering a shallow depression) is the prelude to egg-chambering (digging a laying hole with back flippers). Watching is verboten as turtles spook easily and often return to the sea before laying.…

The mother of Australia’s salt lakes, Lake Eyre shimmers away on the horizon through infinite stumpy saltbush, a solitary stripe of untainted whiteness that would make a Hollywood dentist salivate. HOW THIRSTY WOULD YOU have to be before you gave in, before the pitiless outback swelter forced you to lap up salt water like a desperate animal? Up ahead, a pannier-burdened bicycle lies cumbersomely on its side on the stony track’s shoulder, as if cast away in panic. Further down, a figure kneels over the edge of a slack, shallow creek. The mother of Australia’s salt lakes, Lake Eyre shimmers away on the horizon through infinite stumpy saltbush, a solitary stripe of untainted whiteness that would make a Hollywood dentist salivate. I edge closer. “Need anything?” I ask, shaking my…

 RISSOLE THE EMU IS MOTIONLESS, looking me dead in the eye. At this close range, it’s clear she’s either sizing me up for fighting, feeding or mating, and the cerulean shade painting her neck in a dirty watercolour makes me surmise she’s showing her breeding colours. Rissole, I’m thinking, is ready for love. I see a country thick with tradition and story, for anyone willing and able to take the time to go for a walkabout. She punctuates the silence with the oddest sound I’ve ever heard issued from a living thing – a kind of booming poonk from the depths of her throat that makes me alert, slightly alarmed and not at all able to take her seriously. Leaving Rissole to send her poonks into the air to be…

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR LAUNCHING BAYTHE SWIM? The idea first came to me a couple of years ago while sitting on a beautiful beach in the Greek Islands. I was searching for swimwear that was both minimal in design and easy to wear. I wanted enough coverage in all the right places without all the deep extreme cuts – something that I knew would stay put and still look flattering after a swim in the ocean. I remember thinking about how dissatisfied I was, not only with the market overseas but also within Australia, which seemed to have higher price points and poorer quality fabrics. The shapes also didn’t seem to work for my body type, being either too highly cut or sitting too low on the hips, cutting…

GLIDING EFFORTLESSLY through Cobbold Gorge in Queensland’s Gulf Savannah country, the question soon becomes, which way to look? Down into the still crystalline waters? Ahead to the narrow rocky rift we’re drifting towards? Sideways at the crazy curl of ochre-banded cliff? Or above, where the rock walls either side of us rise 30 metres to frame the sky? Well, no worries; you can do it all. The silence is timeless, and there’s time enough to take in the natural beauty in every direction, inexhaustible as it is. Queensland is justly celebrated for its coastal treasures – beaches, coral reefs, rainforests – but its enormous inland has much to offer. The wide open spaces of northern Queensland’s Gulf Savannah is outback par excellence: red earth, roos galore, wedge-tailed eagles, red-tailed black…

IT’S 7PM and I’m sitting cross-legged among rings of spinifex, a cockatoo’s flight from the main stage – a glowing red rock that, at almost 350 metres high, is taller than the Eiffel Tower. As the sun sinks into the horizon’s blanket, the rock slides through a palette of colours. It moves from red to blood orange to pink, and from a kidney-hued purple to a final shade of black. TO ME THE PLACE FEELS LIKE OUR COUNTRY’S CATHEDRAL; A PILGRIMAGE TO THE HEART OF THINGS. Uluru: its image dons high-gloss brochures, forms the backdrop of countless outback cinema scenes, and sits beneath a bevy of aerial camera shots captured for tourism commercials. So, given its overexposure, why is it that witnessing ‘The Rock’ in person is an altogether different…

IF THERE WAS EVER GOING to be such a thing as an Academy Awards ceremony for bathtubs then this would be the winner hands down. It’s a bit about the design of the thing – it resembles a luxe rainwater tank – but it’s mostly about the outlook. It sits in front of a floor-to-ceiling window that perfectly frames the hulking form of Uluru in the distance. A front-row bathtub to one of the most breathtaking views in the world. I’m standing in the two-bedroom Dune Pavilion at Longitude 131°, the luxury desert basecamp nestled into the scrubby outback landscape of the Red Centre at Uluru-Kata Tjuta. This is a new inclusion to the property, installed during a $6 million renovation instigated by Baillie Lodges, owners of the celebrated Southern…

IT HAS BECOME SOMETHING of an accepted norm that almost everywhere else in the country is relegated to the role of second fiddle when it comes to Victoria. It gets all the best sporting events – the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Open tennis, the AFL Grand Final – all the headlining art exhibitions; the recent House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture exhibition at the NGV was a triumph. It has amazing shopping, a vibrant restaurant scene, all those hip graffiti-daubed laneways. And it has the ultimate weekend escape destination: the Mornington Peninsula. An infuriatingly easy one-hour drive from the centre of Melbourne, the Peninsula is almost pulsating right now with positive energy, as a roster of new openings takes up residence and add cache to…

Jamala Wildlife Lodge is the ultimate overnight safari and Australia’s No.1-rated deluxe accommodation (Australia Hotels Association Awards for Excellence 2017). Nestled within Canberra’s National Zoo & Aquarium, relax in the unique African-style atmosphere with the thrill of close encounters with some of the world’s most dangerous and endangered animals. Jamala comprises 18 luxurious suites across Giraffe Treehouses, Jungle Bungalows and the uShaka Lodge. Win, and you’re invited to enjoy all three in the ultimate Jamala experience.…

Safari through rugged Mt Borradaile Mt Borradaile is a remote 700 square-kilometre, exclusively leased Safari Lodge nestled against the Arnhem Land escarpment. This landscape of rugged ranges is fringed by idyllic billabongs, boasting a stunningly beautiful wilderness and the cultural landscape of the Aboriginal people. Valleys, overhangs and caves have been occupied for 50,000 years with world-class galleries of rock art, and occupation and burial sites. To the traditional owners, Mt Borradaile is a sacred place and the embodiment of ancestral heroes. Itineraries are flexible, with activities fully guided due to the sacred nature of the area. All ages will enjoy the bird watching; billabong cruises; barramundi fishing; rock art galleries; 4WD adventures; learning about bush tucker and medicine; exploring catacombs; paperbark swamps and rainforests; wildlife and exotic flora spotting;…

I HAD ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY AS A CHILD. I eventually ended up excavating a Hellenistic site on the Euphrates river in Syria near Aleppo over a number of seasons with a team from the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Melbourne. Finding domestic and ceremonial pieces gave a social and design context to the lives and values of the people who were, in effect, our ancestors. The next transition occurred when I realised I enjoyed studying the profiles and construction of the ceramic shards we uncovered daily, not to mention the fact I really wanted to create some that were intact! After finishing my studies at ANU, I purchased a small kiln, taught myself glazing methods and various methods of production, and the rest,…

FEBRUARY/MARCH 9–4 PERTH FESTIVAL PERTH, WA Dive right in to this citywide festival that presents over 230dynamic events – spanning the arts – from across the globe. perthfestival.com.au FROM 16 MARCH 21ST BIENNALE OF SYDNEY SYDNEY, NSW Find sure-fire highlights on Cocktaoo Island (one of seven venues) as superlative artists Ai Weiwei, Anya Gallaccio and more present work. biennaleofsydney.art 11–20 MAY ORD VALLEY MUSTER KUNUNURRA, WA This gem of a festival in the east Kimberley is full of surprises: expect black-tie dinners, music from the Cat Empire, comedy, rodeo and more. ordvalleymuster.com.au FEBRUARY 24 ROARING 20s FESTIVAL HYDRO MAJESTIC HOTEL, NSW Dig out your flapper dress and practise your Charleston for the Blue Mountains’ celebration of decadence. hydromajestic.com.au FROM 3 MARCH MARIMEKKO: DESIGN ICON 1951 TO 2018 BENDIGO ART…

Tasmania offers plenty of opportunities for quiet contemplation. And when those moments come served with a quality tipple in hand, all the better. Shene Estate & Distillery, not far from Hobart – and just a 20-minute drive from MONA – is based in a Gothic Revival sandstone barn and stables built by convicts in the 19th century. Here, the word spirit has more than one resonance. The distillery’s small-batch craft gin is called Poltergeist, after the witch-protection pagan symbols that were discovered on the property by current owners the Kernke family. Book in for a tasting and tour of the historic site to uncover both worlds. Or stop off at the roadside stall each Sunday for a tasting on your way to elsewhere.…

W Brisbane The funky W brand returns to Australia with the opening of the new-build W Brisbane in the city’s CBD. Overlooking the Brisbane River, the property has 312 guestrooms, including 29 suites, two Wow Suites and the Extreme Wow Suite, as well as a signature restaurant serving up the best local produce, vibey Living Room lobby space and a poolside oasis known as WET Deck for cocktails and snacks. There’s also a signature W Away Spa. starwoodhotels.com/whotels THE WILLIAM INGLIS – MGALLERY BY SOFITEL The south-west Sydney suburb of Warwick Farm doesn’t seem like the kind of place that needs a boutique five-star hotel, but it is part of the ambitious $ 140 million Riverside Stables development by thoroughbred horse sales company William Inglis &…

TO SOME, THE thought of taking time off with a baby is fraught with trepidation, a logistical nonsense of car hire firms and baby seats, travel cots, oversized luggage, and tubs of white powder that would raise eyebrows and rifle muzzles in Bali. But at Sierra Escape, a safari-style lodging near Mudgee, in the middle of a thunderstorm so severe that the owner calls the next day to see if it’s still standing and, presumably, if we’re still alive, I’ve discovered the perfect formula: glamping. We haven’t been actual camping with a baby yet, and even though go-hard-or-go-home types may scoff at the ‘glam’ addition to the most primal form of holiday, I’m an advocate. The thought of being squashed into a two-man tent with someone who hasn’t yet acquired…

IT’S DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT exactly when Darling Harbour started to look a little weary. But once the Millennium ticked over and we were suddenly beyond 2000, and it became clear the monorail wasn’t the transport system of the future (or even the present day), it all began to feel a bit like a school project diorama. Sure, it seems awesome at the time, but years later, when you pull it out from the back of the closet, it just looks a little embarrassing and naive. Once the monorail was dismantled and bought by a Taiwanese businessman who ‘felt sorry for it’, Darling Harbour’s future seemed even more uncertain. Then Barangaroo sprung up, and all that glittered was across the water. The Harbourside Shopping Centre, a rabbit warren of mass-produced souvenir…

SPENDING a week in the Top End offers up ample opportunity to experience everything the tropics can throw at you: an abundance of water, sorbet sunsets, fronds the size of houses, crocodiles (from afar!), Indigenous culture and frosty mango smoothies thrown in for good measure. To ensure all items sit on the menu, side-trips out of Darwin to Mary River and Kakadu National Park are a must. NOTHING BEATS SEEING CROCODILES IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, PATROLLING THE RIVER FOR FOOD. Darwin is Australia’s most northerly capital city, and the Top End one of the country’s most northerly regions. This largely flat, monsoonal sweep of land borders the Timor Sea and runs as far south as 400 kilometres below Darwin to Mataranka. The monsoonal aspect here is key for travellers, as…

PART OF THE Shark Bay World Heritage area, Dirk Hartog Island is a remote nirvana steeped in history and rich with wildlife. And its 1616 discovery by Captain Dirk Hartog also happened to put Australia on the world map. A pewter plate, inscribed with details of Hartog’s visit and left at the northern end of the island, now known as Cape Inscription, is the oldest physical record of a European landing in Australia. Many explorers followed the Dutch skipper, including Willem de Vlamingh in 1697, William Dampier in 1699 and Louis de Freycinet in 1818. Today though, exploration is the role of tourists who can discover the island by 4WD, camp on a secluded beach or stay in the rustic luxury Eco Lodge. Dirk Hartog Island is home to stunning…

HOME TO THE SMALLEST population of any Aussie state or territory, the NT is big on landscape and natural beauty, and far leaner on an urban scene. But that’s precisely why this region is a firm traveller’s ‘must-do’. Here, indigenous culture looms large, lush nature reserves are a rock wallaby’s hop from town, and the feeling of having entered a parallel world is ever-present. Beginning either in the desert at Uluru or the seaside city of Darwin, discover the best of the north on a boutique, immersive and relaxing Inspiring Journeys trip. On ‘Outback Australia: The Colour of Red’, be awestruck by the monoliths of Uluru and Kata Tjuta before exploring Kings Canyon and the ancient gorges and meteorite craters of the MacDonnell Ranges region. Further north, on ‘Kakadu’s Ancient…

I HAVE DRIVEN up and down Victor Harbor searching for beach huts that are not really near the beach several times now, before I finally locate them in a quiet backstreet. Our hastily booked end-of-holiday accommodation choices have been somewhat daggy up to this point, so as I traverse the gravel approach at Beach Huts Middleton (beachhuts.com.au), in South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, I am hoping for the best. I’m feeling more confident after entering the reception area, with its curated selection of South Australian wines and stylish interiors pieces for sale. And the nearby restaurant, with its al fresco deck looks good too. We could be onto a winner. Twelve cute lolly-hued beach huts (all paying deference to the most iconic beaches in the country, from Mooloolaba to Portsea to…

AT THE PRECISE MOMENT her uncle died, an owl perched itself on the back fence. It gazed through the house like an X-ray. Come dawn, it would fly away to wherever owls spend their sleepy days, returning to the same spot every single night. Nothing, it seems, would budge the owl. Not that Tamara Pearson wanted it to go. She knew what or, more precisely, who the owl was. Tonight, Tamara is an owl. Not that owl; not exactly. She scratches sharply in the dusty earth, flutters in and out of feverish shadows that have a life of their own thanks to a palpitating light show. Her freaky, folkloric get-up sentences the uninitiated pre-schooler to a childhood of night terrors. But the children of Cape York Peninsula’s Aboriginal communities who…

“You can see why the Kimberley is one of those places that keeps calling you back . The beauty and serenity, it clears your head.” AN IRISHMAN, AN Australian woman and an Englishman walk into a pub. The establishment is the Hotel Kununurra and it’s talent night. Inside the redbrick walls of the 1960s low-rise building, the vinyl cushion stools, framed football jerseys and corrugated iron bar all add up to a no-frills atmosphere. Outside, away from the sports-tuned TVs, the garden crowd is swelling like the belly of a hardened beer drinker. “Next on stage we have Cheryl,” says Irish-born restaurateur Colin Fassnidge. What is a celebrity chef doing in Kununurra? Time will tell. “Take it away Cheryl.” On this especially lively night I share a drink with former…